Collapsible drinking-cup.



w. 0. STHRAIGHT.

COLLAPSIME DRINKING CUP.

APPLICATION men MAR. 10. 1915.

Patented Feb. 29,1916.

I "Y UNITE Peron.

WILLIAM O. STRAIGHT, OF PULLMAN, WASHINGTON.

COLLAPSIBLE DRINKING-CUP.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM O. STRAIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pullman, in the county of Whitman and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Drinking-Cups, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to drinking cups and has for its principal object to produce a collapsible drinking cup which is reversible, that is, may be opened either Way with either surface of the flexible body portion of the cup on the inside, so that one interior may be used for an entirely different purpose from the other.

Another object is to provide an article of the kind described which will be absolutely sanitary, there being no open or unprotected seams for the collection of microbes or germs.

A further object is to make the cup collapsible into as small a space as practicable while providing it with a stiff rim which will retain the proper shape and make the cup much easier to handle as well as more durable. Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention will be first hereinafter described in the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of this specification, and then more specifically defined in the claim at the end of the description.

In the accompanying 'drawings, wherein" similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views :Figure 1 is the perspective view of a cup made substantially in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a central section thereof, the reversed position being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cup collapsed, and Fig. 4: is an edge view thereof also in collapsed position.

The body portion A of the cup may be made of rubber or any suitable textile fabric and is preferably knit or woven in the desired shape so as to be entirely free from seams. The silk, linen, cotton, wool or other fabric, if used, is coated with rubber or cravenetted to make it thoroughly waterproof. The bottom of the cup is curved in cross section so as to leave no shar corners or crevices for the collection of foreign matter. The upper edge or rim of the body portion is reinforced or stiffened by an end Specification of Letters I 'atent;

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

4 Application filed March 10, 1915. Serial No. 13,510.

less rigid metal ring or loop B, preferably round in cross-section, and inclosed entirely Within a loose fold or casing C formed of the marginal portion of the body.

The casing C enveloping the ring B is intentionally made loose to facilitate the openmg or expansion of the body portion A at either side of the said ring, the reversibility of the cup being a special feature of this lnvention'. Inasmuch as the body portion of the cup is seamless, or apparently so, the formation of the casing C by folding over the marginal portion of said body will completely house or cover the ring, so that no part. of the latter is exposed to the action of the liquid with which the cup may be filled when'either of its surfaces are on the inside. It is also impossible, for the same reason, for the mouth or hands of the user to come in contact with any part of the metal ring which is the only metal part of the cup. All injuries or sores caused by rust are, therefore, eliminated when this cup is used. Furthermore, by making the body of the cup seamless, or apparently so, no crevices are present in which microbes or germs might collect, so that the cup is absolutely sanitary.

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 and readily understood from the foregoing description of the construction'of the cup, when not in use the device may be folded or crushed so that its body portion A will lie in the plane of the ring B and occupy very little more vertical space than the ring itself. When thus folded into this very compact form, the

cup may be conveniently carried in the pocket and may, if desired, be inclosed in.

any suitable form of box, case or folder.

Being made of water-proof material, the cup may be easily cleaned and sterilized and thus kept in sanitary condition with little trouble. For this reason and also because of its reversibility, seamless or apparently seamless construction and capability of being folded into a small compass and conveniently carried in the pocket, this cup may soon become an indispensable accessory for travelers, school children and others obliged to drink at public drinking places.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is ze- A reversible drinking cup consisting of a flexible body of non-porous material, and a rigid ring inclosed in a casing formed in the marginal portion of the body and fitting In testimony whereof I have signed my loosely around the ring for facilitating said name to this specification in the presence of body being distended in either direction two attesting Witnesses.

from the ring to bring either surface of the WILLIAM O. STRAIGHT. 5 body on the inside to contact with the eon- Witnesses:

tents of the cup, both surfaces of the body F. C. FORREST,

being smooth and uninterrunted. C. F. ANDERSON. 

